On Southwest Airlines, most bags fly free. So do much-deserving patients.

For more than a decade, the airline with a heart for service has partnered with UT Southwestern Medical Center, supporting patients traveling to Dallas for health care. Through its Medical Transportation Grant Program, Southwest Airlines awards an allotment of electronic passes that can be redeemed for commercial flights. Patients who demonstrate financial need can apply to receive an e-pass through a nonprofit hospital or medical transportation organization.

It’s an opportunity that has meant access to lifesaving treatment, especially for people facing rare diseases.

Patty Ashworth kick-started UT Southwestern’s partnership with the low-cost carrier in 2010 when she worked in the Department of Internal Medicine. Patients from around the world were traveling to the Medical Center to be treated for lipodystrophies, rare genetic or autoimmune disorders that result in patients having a severe lack of healthy fat tissue.

Physicians with the expertise to treat the condition remain few and far between. One is UT Southwestern’s Abhimanyu Garg, M.D., a global leader in diagnosing and treating the disease who serves as Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of Metabolic Diseases in the Center for Human Nutrition.

“Southwest opened up new options for our patients,” said Mrs. Ashworth, now a Program Coordinator in UT Southwestern’s Center for Human Nutrition. “So many patients wanted to come here, but many couldn’t afford to until Southwest stepped forward.”

Aerial allies

Debbie Wafford, Southwest Airlines’ Community Outreach Senior Specialist, has managed the Medical Transportation Grant Program since its inception in 2007. It started with a goal of helping patients and their caregivers travel for essential medical care.

“We were listening to so many people, and it was clear there was a need for this type of assistance,” Mrs. Wafford said. “Being Southwest, we were happy to help.”

After distributing e-passes for flights on an individual basis, Southwest Airlines formalized the program in 2007. Partnering with nonprofit hospitals and medical transportation charities helped scale their impact across the entire U.S. To date, the company has distributed more than 1,000 passes to UT Southwestern for flights valued at more than $400,000.

“UT Southwestern is right in our backyard,” Mrs. Wafford said. “We have always valued their commitment to exceptional medical care, and we knew we could extend our help to patients with highly specialized care needs who live beyond the Dallas metroplex.”

Alexandra Huffman has been involved with Southwest Airlines’ program at UT Southwestern’s Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center over the last seven years. As Assistant Director of Support Services, Ms. Huffman began working with the airline on behalf of patients coming to UT Southwestern’s blood cancer clinic.

Patients often seek treatment at the Simmons Cancer Center because they cannot find specialized care near their home. Recognized as one of only 56 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, it draws patients from across the U.S. for screening and treatment services.

“Our team of social workers helps us know which patients have financial concerns and need assistance traveling here for treatment,” Ms. Huffman said. “For eligible patients, receiving a free travel pass to UT Southwestern is a massive relief.”

Simmons Cancer Center specialists often schedule as many oncology treatments as possible during a two-to-three-day span, enabling patients to make the most of each trip.

“Because the flight credits don’t expire, a patient and caregiver can arrive when it’s best for them and leave when they feel up to it. They’re not tied to an inflexible travel schedule," Ms. Huffman said.

Limitless

Since 2010, the partnership between UT Southwestern and Southwest Airlines has expanded to include patients of the Department of Internal Medicine, the Simmons Cancer Center, and the Transplant Services Center. Patients fly free from any U.S. destination.

“Southwest has given our patients so many more options – as many as there are flight routes,” Mrs. Ashworth said. “They couldn’t be easier to work with.”

When Southwest switched to electronic passes, the Medical Transportation Grant Program injected greater flexibility and efficiency into the process, allowing patients to coordinate travel with their health care needs. Patients can fly to UT Southwestern for surgery and wait until they are released from the hospital to arrange a flight home. In addition to round-trip e-passes, the airline recently began offering passes for one-way flights, giving patients even more options.

“Southwest applies no restrictions on these patient and caregiver passes,” Mrs. Wafford said. “If they need to change their reservations, or if they need to travel over a popular holiday period, there are no restrictions.”

The airline’s generosity extends beyond the pass program. In 2020, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the carrier shipped respirators and other cargo to help hospitals nationwide meet critical needs. When UT Southwestern struggled to convince patients who were concerned about the spread of the virus to travel for care, Southwest Airlines extended the regular annual ticket issuance period by six months.

Sky-high compassion

For many patients, receiving travel support from Southwest Airlines represents more than opportunity. It represents hope.

“I have dealt with so many patients who could not afford to come without this generosity,” Mrs. Ashworth said. “Southwest helps get them the care they so badly need. It has been a game-changer for everyone.”

All that matters, for the airline, is making it as easy as possible for patients and their caregivers to travel to UT Southwestern to receive the treatment they need and live their best life.

“We understand the financial burdens patients face when fighting rare or chronic diseases,” Mrs. Wafford said. “We hope that offering these e-passes allows them to focus on receiving the care they need rather than worrying about how to get to Dallas.”

For Ms. Huffman and the team at the Simmons Cancer Center, Southwest’s impact has been “absolutely huge.”

“We now have more patients traveling in for highly focused clinical treatment,” she said. “For us to be able to support that often-expensive transportation need has become exceedingly important. Without offering this service, it is highly likely our patients would delay or not receive the care they need.”

And as flights touch down and patients make their way through the doors of the Simmons Cancer Center, Ms. Huffman and the entire Support Services team hear the appreciation and relief in their voices.

“We share that gratitude and can’t thank Southwest enough,” she said.

For more information about the Medical Transportation Grant Program and eligibility, patients should contact their hospital or medical transportation organization.

• Dr. Garg holds the Distinguished Chair in Human Nutrition Research.